Associated Press Published

Doll of West Virginia First Lady Cathy Justice Unveiled

W.Va. First Lady Cathy Justice unveils a doll in her likeness on June 27, 2018.

West Virginia first lady Cathy Justice has unveiled a doll in her likeness.

The doll introduced at a ceremony Wednesday will become part of the First Ladies of West Virginia Collection at the state Culture Center in Charleston. It was made by Washington D.C.-based artist Ping Lau and features Justice in her inaugural ball gown.

Working with drawings and photographs, Lau also has designed the dolls of former first ladies Dee Caperton, Joanne Jaeger Tomblin, Sandy Wise and Rachael Worby since 2013.

The West Virginia Federation of Women’s Clubs commissioned the first ladies doll collection in 1976. Charleston-based ceramic artist Edna Henderson created 29 first lady dolls before she died in 1999. In 2006, Joanne Gelin created the Gayle Manchin doll.